Jayapura – Papuan students in the Balinese capital of Denpasar were sent a package containing a rotten pig's head delivered by an online motorcycle taxi on June 6 at around 3 pm. The incident occurred at one of the Papuan students' rented houses in Denpasar.
Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) chairperson Jeno Alfred Dogomo said the incident occurred when a number of Papuan students were staying in a rented house in the Denpasar area.
"The medium-sized cardboard package sent via an online motorcycle taxi service was addressed to one of the boarding house residents, Mr. Wemison Enembe, accompanied by a statement that the contents of the package were a book entitled Papua Bergerak [Papua Moving] and there was a WhatsApp contact number for the sender", explained Dogomo.
But after checking, said Dogomo, none of the boarding house residents said they had ordered or were expecting the book. After a short handover process, the courier immediately left the location.
Due to the lack of clarity regarding the origin and purpose of the delivery, the boarding house residents decided to open the package to ascertain its contents.
"When they opened it, how shocked they were when they found that the package actually contained rotting pig's head, complete with soil in the box. A pungent stench immediately spread and shocked the residents who covered their noses because they could not stand the pungent stench".
Following this, the students took the initiative to track the sender's WhatsApp number using a third-party application. From the search results, said Dogomo, the name "Made Budiawan" appeared as the identity of the owner of the contact number.
Furthermore, after checking the WhatsApp profile photos and related Facebook accounts, physical similarities and clothing styles were found, including the logo on a shirt that read "Ksatria Dalem Tarukan Kampuh Poleng Tanpa Tepi", which is suspected to refer to a certain traditional group or mass organisation.
"Therefore, we Papuan students in Denpasar consider that this action is a form of psychological terror and intimidation aimed at Papuan students so that they are afraid to get involved in critical organisational activities and the Papuan people's struggle".
"However, we emphasise that this kind of action will not silence the voices of truth, but rather will increasingly show the character of those in power who are afraid of critical awareness and solidarity of Papuan students in foreign lands".
"We are aware that Papua is currently in a state of major crisis – between ecocide, militarisation and systematic human rights violations. Therefore, we will continue to stand with the Papuan people, against exploitation, oppression and military operations that are still ongoing in our ancestral land".
Therefore, the Papuan students are asking the police in Bali to immediately investigate the perpetrators and the motives behind sending the terror packages.
The government and security forces must not allow the silencing of Papuan students' freedom of expression. In addition, human rights institutions and student solidarity throughout Indonesia must declare their stance and condemn the practice of terror against student activists.
Since the incident involving the sending of the rotten pig's head, there has been no statement from the Balinese police.
Previously, a similar package was received by Tempo media in Jakarta on March 19. At that time, the terror package containing a pig's head was addressed to Francisca Christy Rosana, a Tempo political journalist and host of the Bocor Alus Politik podcast.
Two days later, a cardboard box containing six beheaded sewer rat carcasses was also sent to the Tempo offices.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mahasiswa Papua di Bali Mendapat Teror Kepala Babi Busuk, Tidak Membungkam Suara Kebenaran".]
